Human Interest

How You Can Help Rescue Efforts In The Bahamas: A Beasley Best Community Of Caring Report

Brian Ives // Managing Editor, Beasley Media
September 5th

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GREAT ABACO, BAHAMAS - SEPTEMBER 04: An aerial view of damage caused by Hurricane Dorian is seen on Great Abaco Island on September 4, 2019 in Great Abaco, Bahamas. A massive rescue effort is underway after Hurricane Dorian spent more than a day inching over the Bahamas, killing at least seven as entire communities were flattened, roads washed out and hospitals and airports swamped by several feet of water, according to published reports. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

This Beasley Best Community of Caring report urges you to donate to efforts to help the Bahamas after the devastation of Hurrican Dorian. Read more below to learn about the situation, and please consider donating to Red Cross efforts HERE.

Days after Hurricane Dorian inflicted massive damage on The Bahamas, foreign aid is beginning to arrive to support rescue efforts, to provide food and water to the displaced and to assess an incredible amount of damage.

“[The] Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) to The Bahamas as Hurricane Dorian — the second strongest Atlantic hurricane on record and the strongest to ever hit The Bahamas — continues to bring life-threatening wind, rain, and flooding to the northwestern islands of Abaco and Grand Bahama,” according to the Agency.

“The DART, an elite team of disaster response experts, is coordinating with local authorities, humanitarian organizations, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the U.S. Embassy in The Bahamas to assess damage, identify humanitarian needs, and bring urgently needed assistance to those affected by this hurricane.”

Bahamas Health Minister Duane Sands told NBC News on Wednesday that 20 deaths had been confirmed so far and that the number is expected to rise.

The Bahamas will need more than disaster response: the New York Times reports that around 70,000 people are in need of lifesaving aid on the affected islands. The Times reports that harbors, supermarkets, a public hospital and airport landing strips have been damaged or destroyed, making rescue efforts even more difficult. Additionally, CBS News reports that an estimated 13,000 homes were damaged or destroyed.

In the coming days, weeks and months, the people of The Bahamas will need a lot of help. How can you add to that effort? The easiest way is by donating money. The U.S. Agency for International Development Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance’s Center for International Disaster Information notes that unlike physical goods such as clothes, tools or even food, cash requires no transportation costs, shipping, or customs fees. It also enables relief organizations to spend more time providing aid by spending less time managing goods. Cash donations also allow relief supplies to be purchased in markets close to the disaster site, which stimulates the local economy, thereby boosting employment and generating cash flow to stimulate the local economy.

Beasley Best Community Of Caring recommends that you donate to the Red Cross here.